World leaders congratulate Trump, but his victory looks set to roil the world again

Jill Lawless
| Associated Press

London — The verdict of American voters turned out to be more decisive than most experts and analysts predicted. Now the world waits to see whether the election of Donald Trump as president for a second time is the destabilizing factor that many American allies fear.

Trump emerged victorious on Wednesday, gaining the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win. In his victory speech before the official declaration, he promised to “put our country first” and achieve a “golden age” for America.

During Trump’s first term, he offended and alienated many of the United States’ longtime allies. His return to the White House, four years after President Joe Biden left office, will have huge implications for everything from global trade to climate change and numerous crises and conflicts around the world.

Trump has vowed to intensify the tariff feud with China, a growing economic and strategic rival of the United States. In the Middle East, Trump has promised, without specifying how, to end conflicts between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah. He also promised to end the Russian-Ukrainian war within 24 hours of taking office – something Ukraine and its supporters fear would come on terms favorable to Moscow.

Here’s how leaders and others around the world are reacting:

NATO is nervous and Ukraine is worried

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte congratulated Trump, saying – perhaps more with hope than certainty – that “I look forward to working with him again to advance peace through strength through NATO” in the face of “a growing number of global challenges.” including “the growing rapprochement between China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.”

Trump sharply criticized the North Atlantic military alliance during his first term, accusing other members of failing to exert influence. Earlier this year, he said the United States would not defend NATO members that failed to meet defense spending targets.

Rutte emphasized the positives, praising Trump for his work in persuading member states to increase defense spending and saying NATO was now “stronger, bigger and more cohesive.”

America’s allies are – belatedly, some say – deciding what to do if they can’t depend on the US for their protection. Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews, said it was not just NATO. Washington’s other allies in the Indo-Pacific region, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and even Australia, “can no longer count on the US to be a reliable defense partner,” he said.

Nowhere are the stakes higher than in Ukraine: the US is by far Kyiv’s largest military sponsor in the fight against the Russian invasion. President Vladimir Zelensky, like Rutte, said he welcomed Trump’s “peace through strength” approach.

“This is precisely the principle that can practically bring a just peace in Ukraine closer,” Zelensky wrote on social networks. “I hope we can put this into action together. We look forward to an era of a strong United States of America under the strong leadership of President Trump.”

There were no congratulations from Moscow, where President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian-American relations were at the “lowest point in history.”

European congratulations mask deep divisions

European leaders rushed to congratulate Trump even before his victory was officially declared, some more effusively than others.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it a “historic election victory” and said that “as closest allies, the UK and US will continue to work together to defend our shared values of freedom and democracy.”

Like US allied governments around the world, Starmer’s centre-left administration has worked hard to forge ties with Trump and his team. In September, Starmer dined with Trump at Trump Tower.

Centrist French President Emmanuel Macron expressed congratulations, “respect and ambition.” Germany’s Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz congratulated Trump and said he wanted close ties to continue, even if “of course many things will be different under Donald Trump’s administration.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose far-right government is in some ways close to Trump politically, said there was a “strategic connection between Italy and the US that I am sure we will now strengthen even further.”

European leaders are keen to emphasize that the transatlantic relationship goes beyond individual politicians, but Trump’s protectionist economic views are a cause for concern. During his last term, he imposed tariffs on European steel and aluminum, rocking the bloc’s economy.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that the EU and the US “are bound by a true partnership between our peoples, uniting 800 million citizens. Let us work together for a transatlantic partnership that continues to benefit our citizens.”

Meanwhile, Europe’s populist politicians welcomed the victory of a politician they consider a kindred spirit.

“They threatened him with prison, took his property, wanted to kill him… and he still won,” said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a nationalist.

On Thursday, Orban will host a summit in Budapest of about 50 other European leaders, many of whom are far more wary of the impact of a second Trump presidency on Europe’s economy and security.

The Middle East is in turmoil as it awaits Trump’s action.

During his first term, Trump sought to remake the Middle East by reconciling Israel and Saudi Arabia, and now all eyes are on how he intervenes in the region’s conflicts between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump’s election victory “the greatest comeback in history.”

“Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful reaffirmation of commitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory!” he wrote on social networks.

Trump and Netanyahu – a fellow conservative nationalist – had a close relationship during the former president’s first term, but the relationship soured when Netanyahu congratulated President Joe Biden on his 2020 victory.

Netanyahu’s inner circle hopes Trump will give Israel a free hand to fight its enemies, but the president-elect is known for his unpredictability and the Israeli leader faces strong domestic opposition. On Tuesday he fired popular Defense Minister Yoav Gallant amid disagreements over the conduct of the war. This unexpected announcement sparked protests across the country.

Hamas issued a brief statement saying that “our position towards the new US administration depends on its position and practical behavior towards our Palestinian people, their legitimate rights and their just cause.”

Washington is one of the key mediators in so-far unsuccessful ceasefire talks in Gaza and has publicly accused Hamas of reneging on several deals. Hamas denies this, instead blaming Israel for demanding last-minute changes to the proposals.

China’s challenge is still pressing

There was no immediate reaction from the Chinese government to Trump’s victory, but analysts were pessimistic, citing the likelihood of higher tariffs and increased confrontation over Taiwan.

“It’s not all doom and gloom, but there are more challenges than opportunities,” said Da Wei, director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in Beijing. “We are clearly aware of the problems. As for the opportunities, we have yet to see them clearly.”

The long-running territorial dispute in the South China Sea is a delicate fault line in the US-China rivalry in Asia and is likely to remain a major foreign policy challenge for the next American president.

US allies in Asia, wary of China’s growing influence, sought Trump’s attention in congratulatory messages.

“I look forward to working closely with President-elect Trump to further elevate the Japan-U.S. alliance and relationship to an even higher level,” Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters, saying he hoped to speak with the president-elect soon.

South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol wrote on X: “Under your strong leadership, the future of the ROK-US-America alliance will shine brighter,” using the initials of South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea. “I look forward to working closely with you.”

Tensions between the Koreas have reached their highest point in years as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has repeatedly boasted of his expansion of nuclear weapons and missile programs while providing Russia with ammunition and troops to support its war in Ukraine.

Associated Press writers around the world contributed to this story.